The Sweetest Taste
by TheAuthoressAnonymous
Summary: AU: OneShot: "I don't like sweets." "That's impossible! There has to be something you like. And I'm going to find it!" Chocolate-shop owner Naruto is outraged when he meets Sasuke, who swears he dislikes any form of sweets. SASUNARU


**DISCLAIMER: **_I do not own Naruto. I do not even own the briefly mentioned OC; Daiki belongs to Kakashi-Loving-Anime-Freak (AKA: Yuuna)._

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **_I wasn't going to post this, but Yuuna keeps bugging me to. So I've finally caved in. Here you go: My first solo-written oneshot._ ._.

**The Sweetest Taste**

_By: TheAuthoressAnonymous who cannot understand why Yuuna hates chocolate._

_Dedicated to Yuuna-teme, who could use a little more chocolate in her life. Like seriously._

Main Street was the life of Konoha. Right in the middle of the town, it bustled with busybodies. All day, every day. People find themselves drifting toward the store-filled street when they have nothing better to do, and it's the first place that pops into mind when they do have an errand to get done. It was packed in the afternoons, people from neighbouring towns driving over to join the fun. And although it was always the same stores filled with the same people, it never grew dull.

Those running low on food would instantly think of popping into Umino's Grocery Store. Iruka Umino, proud owner of said store, would always offer a bright smile, shaking the ever-lazy part-timing Shikamaru Nara awake to help the costumer before excusing himself (surely to check- _once again_- on Chouji Akimichi, making sure the plump boy wasn't- _once again_- snacking on the groceries in the backroom when he should be restocking the shelves.) When Iruka wasn't waking up Shikamaru or scolding Chouji, he was trying to dodge his perverted boyfriend Kakashi Hatake, who was constantly coaxing the store-owner to close the store early.

Teenagers littered the arcade area of the Sannin Theatre. The sounds of Dance Dance Revolution rang throughout the lobby as Jiraya watched them play, ignoring his theatre-running duties and opting for jotting down notes for his novels as he observed the teenagers. He would only stopped doing so when Tsunade, his sister and head nurse of the Konoha Medical Centre, would stop by to make sure the family's theatre hadn't been burned to the ground due to Jiraya's negligence. People were constantly stopping by Ichiraku's to pick up a bowl of the best ramen in the country. Parents brought their young ones over to Gai's Ice Cream Shop in hopes that the hyper man would tire them out by the time they finished their sundaes. They'd avoid passing by the Konoha Police Department on the way back, their children sticky with split ice cream. _Everyone_ attempted to avoid passing by the police department as Daiki- the town's most strict figure of authority- sat by the window, glaring out at the world as though someone was stupid enough to commit a crime on the front lot of the building.

And, of course, anyone who needed a pick-me-up; anyone who was in need of a quick gift for a special someone; anyone who had a sweets craving; anyone who even had five minutes to spare; anyone who could _squeeze _five minutes into their busy schedule would stop by a sweets shop named The Truffle that was location on the corner of Main Street next to Yamanaka Flower Shop.

The sweet smell of chocolate filled the air as a wooden spoon dipped into the pot. The warm, brown substance swirled as the spoon travelled in steady circles, creating whirlwind designs. The melting chocolate was momentarily interrupted as a tanned finger plunged into the thick, sticky liquid and scooped up a little of the chocolate. The chocolate-covered finger made its way to a pair of pink lips that parted for the entry of the treat. Eyes closed in satisfaction and the finger pulled out with a pop. Blue eyes popped open and a grin stretched across a scarred face as the man took the pot to another spot to begin dipping fruits, snacks, and candies in the sweet liquid. He briefly looked up at the shop's front glass walls. People- children, teenagers, and even a few adults- already had their noses pressed against the glass, peering in at him with pouts that demanded the shop be opened that instant.

Picking up a pretzel, he glanced at the clock before dipping the treat into the chocolate. What are they doing here an hour before I open? He questioned to himself with a smile, filling a tray quickly with newly chocolate-coating pretzels. He couldn't help but feel a little proud that his treats were tasty enough for his costumers to be willing to wait an hour to get their hands on them.

Grabbing the tray, he walked over to the freezer to put them away when he heard the double beep, indicating that a door had been opened. He peeked around the wall to see his employee closing the back entry door.

"Good morning, Gaara!" He greeted cheerfully as he walked into the freezer.

The redheaded boy gave no reply and plopped his bag on a chair, reaching for an apron. He tied it around his waist, ignoring the part that was meant to go around his neck as he began putting pans of newly-made, melting ice cream into the blast.

Naruto came out of the freezer with several trays of chocolate-covered treats. He held them out to Gaara, who plucked a chocolate-coated marshmallow from a tray and popped it into his mouth. Naruto beamed at him and continued to the front of the store to put the treats away, causing the costumers waiting drooling on his glass windows.

"You left the ice cream out again," Gaara stated matter-of-factly as he helped Naruto toss the treats into their respectful jars.

Naruto looked lost for a moment, cocking his head to the side in confusion. His blue eyes widened in realization. "Damn!" He smacked his forehead before scratching the back of his blond head in embarrassment. "I finished those like an hour ago. They're fine, right?"

Gaara nodded. "They're in the blast now."

Naruto smiled widely. "Thanks again, Gaara! You're a life-saver." He nudged Gaara's pale arm. "Or should I say ice-cream-saver."

Gaara's sea-green eyes stared dully at a doubled over Naruto. "I refuse to comment," was all he said before turning to prepare for opening the store.

"Oh, come on," Naruto said, wiping a tear from his eye. "It was _funny_."

Gaara stopped and turned to face Naruto, giving him a pointed look. The two stared at each other silently for a few moments until Naruto threw his hands in the air. "Oh, fine! It was lame!" Gaara gave the fuming blond a small smile before continuing the task at hand, enjoying the quiet time he had left before they opened. The shop was crowded and loud starting right at opening and it only died down in late afternoon. Gaara glanced at the waiting costumers and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

-

The sun was setting and the shop had only just begun to slow down as other stores began to shut down, forcing the townspeople back to their houses.

"Thank you." Sakura handed a costumer their bagged goodies. "Come again," she called as the costumer exited the shop. She sighed and leaned against the counter. "Why is it so busy everyday?" She questioned, running a hand through her pink hair.

"Hey," Naruto called out from the back. "Don't jinx my store!"

Sakura rolled her emerald eyes, although Naruto couldn't see. "But _so many _people come."

"You were three hours late today," Gaara said, looking up from the tabletop he was wiping. His voice was monotone, but still held annoyance. "Do you honestly think you have the right to complain about that?"

Sakura huffed and walked into the backroom, leaving Gaara to continue his cleaning duties in peace. She stood beside Naruto, who was counted the profits from the secondary register.

"Anything I can do?"

Naruto glanced up at her, never missing a beat with the money count. "Don't you have a test tomorrow?"

The rosette sighed, sitting on a crate. "Don't remind me."

"You should go home early."

Sakura looked unsure. "But Gaara gets off soon."

"Don't worry about me," the blond said, handing her the empty register tray. "The only person who ever shows up after dark is Kiba."

"If you say so," she said, standing from the crate. She removed her apron and hung it up as she walked toward the front.

"Taking an early leave?" Gaara asked his eyes still on the sneeze guard he was cleaning.

Sakura looked up at the redhead. "Yeah," she said as she placed the empty tray beside its register. She turned on her heel and headed for the back door.

"See you tomorrow, Naru."

"Have fun studying, Sakura," Naruto yelled after her.

"Oh, tons of fun," she called back sarcastically.

Naruto chuckled to himself as he turned toward the front of the store, coming face-to-face with a jaded Gaara. The blond let out an "Eep!" and jumped back, clutching his chest.

"Jesus, Gaara! Someone should put a bell on you," Naruto said, breathing heavily.

Gaara chose to ignore his stupid comment. "Want me to stay longer?"

"Nah, you go home. I'll be fine."

Gaara didn't need to be told twice. He was already tossing off his apron and picking up his bag as soon as the word 'nah' escaped the blonde's mouth. The double-beep rang through the shop as he opened the back door. "I'm going to be late tomorrow," he said over his shoulder. "Please attempt to remember that ice cream doesn't put itself in the blast."

"Hey!" Naruto shouted at the now-closed door.

-

Naruto was sweeping the backroom's floor, where he dropped a jar of rainbow sprinkles that created a colourful yet beautiful splatter across the ground. He wanted to take a picture, but decided against it and opted for sweeping it up right away. He heard the familiar double-beep of the door opening. There's Kiba, he thought to himself as he tossed the broom to the side and walked into the front part of the store.

Kiba Inuzuka was the town's veterinarian. He loved animals, especially canines, and took his job very seriously, causing him to work late hours during the weekdays and thus only shopped for sweets late into the night. The doctor was a regular costumer, always stopping by on his way home to buy sweets for his fiancée.

And sure enough, Kiba Inuzuka came through the door with a man Naruto had never seen before in tow.

Naruto was one-hundred-percent sure he had never seen the man. He would have remembered; the man was _that_ handsome. His skin was pale, pallid, seemingly completely colourless, yet beautiful in a way that Naruto's own tan couldn't hold a candle to. His dark, midnight hair hung slightly over his onyx eyes while the backside was fashioned to look much like- in Naruto's opinion- a duck's tail. Yet as ridiculous it sounded, it looked absolutely perfect on the newcomer. So perfect that Naruto nearly lost his breath.

"Hey, Naruto!" Kiba greeted with a wolf-like grin as he plopped on a stool, causing Naruto to snap out of his daze. Naruto mentally cursed himself for acting like an idiot as he quickly washed his hands. He shook them dry before turning back to his canine-loving friend.

"How's work?"

"Always good," Kiba exclaimed with a smile. "Oh! This here's Sasuke Uchiha," he said, gesturing toward the man that came in with him. "He moved into the house next to me. Saw him wondering around Main Street on my way here, so I'm giving him a quick tour before heading home."

"Nice to meet you," Naruto greeted politely, only to receive a grunt in response which cause Naruto's face to grow red with anger.

"Uhh, I was thinking of getting some of those chocolate seashells again!" Kiba said, trying to catch the attention of the fuming blond with no success. "Hinata _really_ loved those," he tried again. And he was successful. Naruto beamed at him.

"No one can resist the chocolate seashells," he bragged as he gathered some into a bag. He heard the raven snort at this, but chose it ignore it as he rang up Kiba's purchase. It was silent save for the beeps of the register and the clinging of the change. When the exchange was over and done with, the three stood awkwardly for a few moments.

"I'mma use your restroom," Kiba stated even though he was already moving in the bathroom's direction, causing Naruto to laugh. "Don't kill each other."

"Well," Naruto said aloud as soon as Kiba was out of his line of vision, turning to the other man. "Can I get _you _anything?"

"No," Sasuke scoffed, causing Naruto's eyebrows to shoot up.

"And why's that?"

"I don't like sweets."

_"What?!"_

"Are you deaf?" Sasuke questioned, a smirk forming as his onyx eyes danced at the insult. "I said: I don't like sweets."

"There has to be _something _sweet-tasting that you like!" Naruto exclaimed, sure of himself. How can _anyone_ go without enjoying something sweet? It was madness!

The man shook his head and leaned closer to Naruto to make his words as definite and clear as possible. "Not. One. Thing."

It was Naruto's turn to scoff. "Not _one _measly thing? Hah!" The blond threw his arms in the air. "That's impossible."

"Oh?" The raven cocked an eyebrow. "Impossible?"

"Yeah! Impossible!" Naruto banged his fist on the counter. "There _has_ to be something you like." A grin broke out onto his face, his eyes curving happily as he jabbed his thumb into his chest. "And _I'm_ going to find it!"

"Are you now?" The raven leaned back and crossed his arms. "Tch. I'd give you fifty dollars if you managed that impossible task."

Blue eyes danced gleefully. "Deal!"

Onyx eyes showed confusion. "Huh?"

"I'm going to find something for you to try every day and when I _do _find something you like, you have to give me fifty dollars!"

The dark-haired man couldn't help himself. He felt his lips twitch and curve into the unfamiliar thing that was a smile as he bit his tongue to keep from laughing at the idiotic blond in front of him. "Good luck with that, idiot," he said, standing up as Kiba exited the bathroom.

"Hey!" Naruto called after Sasuke as he left the shop with Kiba. "Don't call me an idiot, you bastard!"

-

The sunset had occurred hours ago, giving a moon its chance in the limelight, Gaara and Sakura had left the shop not too long ago, and Naruto had just only finished with Kiba not more than twenty minutes ago when the door opened and Sasuke strolled in.

Naruto grinned happily as Sasuke took a sit in front of the counter. Sasuke scowled at the blonde's excitement. "Don't get too cocky. I'm only here to prove you wrong." But it didn't diminish the bounce in Naruto's step.

"Here," Naruto said, plopping a bag of chocolate seashells in front of the raven. "You didn't believe that they were amazing so we're just going to start with them."

Sasuke slowly opened the bag, looking unsure as he pulled one of the chocolate treats out. The seashells were small and plain-looking. Innocent.

Naruto grew irritated as the raven studied the treat. "Just put it in your mouth before I _shove _it in there."

Sasuke glanced up, about to make a sarcastic remark but decided against it as he saw the serious look on the blonde's face. With a sigh, he tossed the chocolate into his mouth, where it melted slowly onto his tongue. The taste was definitely sweet and rich, almost sinful... And it made Sasuke want to vomit. He reluctantly swallowed it, not sure if he wanted the treat anywhere else in his body.

He looked up at Naruto to tell him his verdict, but the blond was already pouting. Sasuke's answer had already been written on his face the moment the treat was in his mouth. He was handed a bottle of water and he hastily chugged the liquid, wanting to get rid of the sweet taste as soon as possible.

"Okay, fine," Naruto said stubbornly, as he snatched up the bag and popped one of the chocolate sea shells into his own mouth. "So not _everyone _likes it."

"I'm telling you: You will _not _win this bet. So you might at well give in."

"Don't worry, Sasuke." Naruto said, causing the raven's eyebrows to shot up. "I'm not giving up on you," the blond continued with a brilliant smile that caused Sasuke's smirk to drop and his heart to skip a beat. He didn't know why but the man standing in front of him was stirring emotions in him that he didn't even know he had. He couldn't- Did he honestly- Was he actually falling for idiotic blond?

"Well," the raven said, standing suddenly and heading for the door. He didn't know what to make of his newly found emotions and wanted to get away from the man causing them as soon as possible. "I'm off. Nice try, though, deadlast."

Nevertheless, the raven felt his heart skip again as Naruto called back to him. "See you tomorrow, bastard!"

-

As nervous as his new discovery made him, Sasuke kept coming back each day. Every day he tried sweets made by Naruto. Every day he chugged water to rid the over-powering, sweet taste. Every day he'd listen as Naruto promised next week's treat to be better... And every day, he fell more and more for the blond. Before either of them had known it, more than an entire month had passed them by.

Naruto stood with his hands on his hips, looking through the inventory. Hot chocolate? Nope, Sasuke had already tried that. Candy apples? Nope, that had been done- and extremely unsuccessful. Fudge brownies? No, no, no. That had been the most failed of all the treats he had Sasuke try.

Gaara raised an eyebrow as the blond sighed yet again. "Okay. I'll bite," he said, putting down the treats he was bagging. "What's wrong?"

The redhead had to jump back to dodge the blonde's flailing arms. "I can't find something to have Sasuke try today."

"Hm." Gaara resumed bagging the sweets. He'd never met this Sasuke guy, but Naruto talked enough about him for Gaara to know that he meant more than a friend to the blond. "What about Baked Alaska?"

And just like that, the twinkle returned to the blonde's blue eyes. "Yeah!" He hugged the redhead tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" And then he ran off to make the necessary preparations, leaving Gaara to roll his eyes at the wall.

-

Tear-filled cerulean eyes watched as a cold Baked Alaska was dumped into the trash with a sigh. He glanced at the time. It was nearly four hours after Sasuke's usual arrival time. He hadn't failed to show until now and it caused the blond to worry for the first few hours. But as the third hour came around, thoughts of the raven giving up came to mind. The man said he hated sweets. Why couldn't Naruto just leave it at that? Of course he'd eventually give up, Naruto thought to himself bitterly. Who could stand being forced to taste something they thought of as nasty day in and day out? With this in mind, Naruto was surprised the raven had lasted so long. That didn't stop the blond from feeling rejected, though. He had, after all, cared for Sasuke much more than a friend would.

Bitterly, Naruto opened a bag of chocolate seashells, snatching up a handful of the treats and tossing them into his mouth. He stood a moment, letting them melt on his tongue. Pssh, he thought to himself. Stupid Sasuke doesn't know anything. These things are _delicious_.

But mentally bashing the Uchiha didn't help and soon Naruto found his shoulders sagging. The defeated blond disappeared behind the counter, searching for the CLOSED sign that he always seemed to misplace in the mornings due to his lack of sleep. His hands had finally found the sign and he had been in the middle of a mini-victory dance when he froze at the sound of the door opened, accompanied with the double-beep. Ever-so-slowly, he peeked up over the counter. Sky blue eyes met with midnight onyx eyes.

Naruto stood up all the way as Sasuke slowly made his way to his usual stool and took a seat. Silence engulfed the shop. The spell for broken when both began speaking at the same time.

"Well, I had Baked Alaska prepared-"

"I know I'm really late-"

The blond and the raven were faintly aware that the other was talking, but both were too deep in their thoughts to stop their running tongues.

"But you're nearly five hours late and it was cold-"

"I had a long day with my brother-"

"Which kind of defeats the purpose of Baked Alaska-"

"Who I strongly, _strongly_ dislike-"

"Because Baked Alaska is supposed to be hot and-"

"And I eventually got around to thinking about you and everything that's happened this past month and a half-"

"I completely understand if you don't want to continue with this whole stupid trying-to-find-a-sweet-you-like thing-"

"And I couldn't stop thinking about it-"

"Because if I were you, I would have given up _weeks_ ago-"

"Eventually time had flew by and I was running late-"

"But I really hope you keep coming back because-"

"But I finally realized that-"

"I have feelings for you," they both finished at the same time, and instantly both eyes shot wide open at the other's confession. Silence- once again- engulfed the room as the two men stared at each other in amazement, both completely flabbergasted.

Slowly closing his eyes, Naruto leaned over the counter and placed his lips against Sasuke's. The raven froze, not kissing back but not pulling away either. Naruto didn't seem to care though. Ignoring the Uchiha's lack of response, he ran his tongue against the older boy's lips, wanting entry. Realizing Sasuke wasn't going to make a movement any time soon, Naruto opted for playfully nipping on the raven's bottom lip in an attempt to coax them apart. It didn't take long for Sasuke to relax his lips enough for Naruto to shove his tongue in. The blond pressed his body closer- well, as close as he can get with the counter in-between them- to the Uchiha, his hands reaching up to get lost in his dark hair. Naruto ran his tongue over the raven's glossy teeth, in an attempt to map out and memorize the other's mouth, before rubbing against Sasuke's own tongue, which caused the raven to snap out of whatever world he drifted to.

The Uchiha's body began to move away and Naruto wanted to cry out of despair at the rejection- even planned to do so as soon as their lips were separated. But he would never get the chance because Sasuke wasn't letting his lips leave Naruto's. He moved slightly away again before climbing over the counter, ignoring the few trays that clattered to the floor and keeping his lips firmly glued to Naruto's as he jumped down on Naruto's side. He pushed his body against Naruto's, wrapping his right arm around the blonde's waist as his left hand cradled his head. Sasuke pushed Naruto's tongue back into its rightful mouth, his own following and dominating the kiss despite Naruto's attempts to win the war going on in his mouth.

The two only broke apart when their lungs demanded it necessary. Sasuke's opened his eyes to look down at the man he held in his arms, the man that stirred so many lost emotions in him. Naruto's tanned face looked peaceful and angelic in Sasuke's eyes. As slowly as they had closed, the azure eyes opened and locked onto the raven's. Unconsciously, the Uchiha licked his lips, Naruto's delectable taste still lingering. Saskue pulled away from the blond with an amusing thought and reached into his back pocket.

"Guess I owe you this," Sasuke said, handing Naruto a piece of paper.

Naruto looked down at his hand, a crumpled fifty dollar bill staring back up at him. He looked back at Sasuke, confusion clear in his blue eyes.

"The deal was that you couldn't find something sweet-tasting that I'd like," he explained. "And you did," he continued as he leaned in for another kiss, causing Naruto's face to flush with embarrassment. He was going to argue, but decided against it once Sasuke's lips were pressed against his. And it was then that the Uchiha decided he wouldn't mind any type of sweet- as long as it came from Naruto's mouth, that is.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: **_Blah! The ending is so cliché. T_T Whatever. It was written for Yuuna- who adores clichés, so it works. XD_


End file.
